Woolworths sells off $27m Perth shopping centre
Woolworths has sold a suburban Perth shopping centre for $27.3 million, but in a lucrative win for the new owners the supermarket giant could stay on as a tenant for another 60 years.
A Singaporean investor snapped up the newly-built Banksia Grove shopping centre at 103 Ghost Gum Boulevard, in the north eastern suburbs, earlier this month.
The deal offers a passing yield of 5.96% and follows a competitive campaign, with more than 90 enquires and seven offers put forward for the 5721sqm centre.
Commercial Insights: Subscribe to receive the latest news and updates
The current 12-year-lease with Woolworths was a major drawcard. The supermarket occupies 3850sqm of retail space and has 10 additional five-year options.
Effectively, this could see the space rented until 2081.
CBRE Western Australian Retail Investments agent Anthony Del Borrello says the sale shows offshore demand for retail assets with good tenants is continuing, following a stellar 12 months for the state market.
The shopping centre is anchored by a Woolworths supermarket.
“In this time, over $70 million worth of retail assets have transacted, including Kelmscott Plaza at $19 million and Coles Vasse, which sold for $19.6 million – both properties were acquired by private Asia-based investors,” Del Borrello says.
“Investors based in South East Asia are drawn to Western Australia due to its geographical proximity and shared time zone, with many of the high-net-worth individuals’ children opting to study in Perth, making it a logical, convenient location to invest in property”.
Sitting on 2.54ha, the centre has 11 specialty tenants, including Terry White Chemist, Plus Fitness and The Coffee Club.
It has 284 car parks and is strategically positioned at the entrance to Banksia Grove Estate, which has an annual population forecast of 2.7% for the next decade.
CBRE’s Richard Cash says demand for shopping centres in Western Australia was likely to continue with economic stability returning to the Perth market, and retail assets in the state relatively well buffered from the trend toward online sales.
